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McCoy Losing Goal-Line Work To Polk... And He's Kind Of Okay With It
Following up on a previous item. ... A couple years ago, LeSean McCoy led the NFL with a franchise-record 17 rushing touchdowns.

Now he’s not even getting the football near the goal-line.

As CSNPhilly.com's Reuben Frank notes, it appears Chris Polk has become the Eagles' goal-line specialist. He played three snaps against the Cowboys Sunday and two were short rushing touchdowns. On another snap inside the 5, Darren Sproles got the carry and scored.

McCoy led the NFL in rushing last year and is on pace for 1,293 yards this year, fourth-most in the NFL. Polk is an undrafted free agent with only 50 career carries.

But the Eagles have struggled in the red zone all year, and the Eagles believe Polk’s size and power give him an advantage through traffic near the end zone.

And McCoy agrees with that.

“Some of the short-yardage stuff, Polk’s obviously a little bit more powerful back, so they’ve been giving him some of the runs in short-yardage in a couple games, especially last game,” McCoy said.

“He’s not getting all of them, but if it helps the team, that’s what I’m going to do."

Frank went on to note the switch from McCoy to Polk deep in the red zone has helped the Eagles address what was the worst red-zone offense in the NFL through 12 games. The Eagles are now up to 25th, and Polk is one of the reasons why. Frank added: "It’s not like McCoy isn’t an effective goal-line runner. But the Eagles believe Polk’s style suits those snaps."

Polk has seven carries inside the 5 this year and two touchdowns -- both Sunday -- a three-yard gain to the 1, losses of one and two yards, a one-yard gain on 4th-and-1 and a three-yard gain on 2nd-and-4.

“He's a good, forceful runner,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. “I think he's done a good job when we put him in there of getting the ball in the end zone.”

McCoy is a two-time all-pro, two-time Pro Bowler, four-time 1,000-yard rusher. He’s a proud guy, and nobody wants to lose carries, especially ones that can turn into touchdowns.

McCoy is 11th among active players with 43 rushing touchdowns, and only Steve Van Buren has had more in franchise history in his first six seasons.

He knows Polk can handle those carries. But he also knows he can, too.

“I didn’t say I can’t do it, I didn’t say I can’t do it,” McCoy said. “There’s just some plays where I probably couldn’t got out of my legs and dragging him and running over a guy. Let’s be honest. But I’m not saying I can’t do it.”

All that said, Pro Football Focus' Mike Clay put it all in perspective this week.

"Polk played three snaps in the game and is averaging just a shade more than 10 snaps per game since returning from injury in Week 8," Clay wrote. "The vultured scores certainly drove McCoy owners nuts, but keep in mind that McCoy sits second in the NFL in carries and is closing in on 1,300 yards from scrimmage. Lock him in as an RB1 when the Eagles play at Washington on Saturday."